Americans still reeling from the housing crash are increasingly willing to embrace rental housing as an alternative to homeownership, a housing attitudes survey backed by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation found.

The survey found that 57 percent of those surveyed, including both renters and homeowners, say buying has become less appealing while 54 percent say renting has become more appealing.

Seven in 10 renters said they aspire to own a home someday, and 45 percent of homeowners said they can see themselves renting at some point in the future.

The foundation says the findings reflect "post-housing crisis realism"
about the value of owning a home and the risks that can come with it.

"Across the board, we see a chipping away of that old stigma that's been associated with renting," said Rebecca Naser, senior vice president at Hart Research Associates, which conducted the survey.

The findings may have implications for U.S. housing policy. Told "more people at different stages of life are choosing to rent," 65 percent of respondents said the focus national housing policy should be split evenly between rental housing and homeownership.

And 61 percent said renters "can be just as successful as owners at achieving the American Dream."

The findings reflect not just the economic toll of the Great Recessions, but also shifts in lifestyle choices, Naser said.

"More people are renting than in the past, and that has to do with factors other than what's happened in the economy," she said, adding, "I think it is likely to be accelerated because of the moment in time we're in."

The nation's homeownership has fallen to 65.4 percent at the end of 2012 from a peak of 69.2 percent in 2004. Some owners were ejected from their homes in foreclosure, while the transition from renting to buying has slowed.

Additionally, the survey found that few Americans believe the housing crisis is over. Despite recent improvement in the housing market, 58 percent believe the nation is "still in the middle of it" while 19 percent believe "the worst is yet to come." Renters were slightly more pessimistic than homeowners.

Hart interviewed 1,433 adults by phone between Feb. 27 and March 10. It also conducted a series of focus groups.